


Festival of Flowers

by penguinspy42



Series: Home for the Holidays [4]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-10
Updated: 2013-10-10
Packaged: 2017-12-29 01:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/999171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguinspy42/pseuds/penguinspy42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What are those?” River asked, gesturing toward the blossoms floating along the surface of the water.</p>
<p>“Those?” He hesitated, casting a sideways glance at her as he pretended to inspect them more closely. “They're keku blossoms. They—they're used in marriage ceremonies.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Festival of Flowers

Through space, River danced. Among whirlpools of stars and clouds of dust splashed like paint upon an infinite black canvas. Even this freedom, the heaviness chased her. It was a demon she tried to avoid; crafted from the faded nightmare of being abducted and held underwater with no escape. When that feeling seeped in, spinning through the inky darkness broken by rainbow bursts of light was an effective means of escape. It was exhilarating and she had no desire to ever stop, until her revelry was halted by a familiar wheezing. As she opened her eyes, the endless star field imploded into an insufferably small cell containing a blue box of infinite possibilities.

The door of the box opened and the Doctor stumbled out with a look of confusion. But when he turned and saw River, his face lit up more brightly than all the stars in her meditation combined. “River! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know. The usual. Meditating, writing, serving more life sentences than I can count. You?”

“Ah, this _is_ Stormcage, isn't it?” he mumbled to himself. “I thought it was a bit grey and dingy to be the boardwalk on the rings of Larnica.”

“It's not much but it's home,” she shot back with a little more bitterness than intended.

His smile faded and he asked, “Where are we? Early for you, yeah?”

“We just went to Ca--” she caught herself, remembering that he had told her that she'd be seeing an earlier Doctor next. “Ah, Periastron day?”

“Periastron day!” he clapped and the brightness returned. “Lovely day! First one for you, I suppose you mean. Of course you do. Spoilers. Anyway, wonderful except for the bean fruits. Also the apple ones. How about we don't risk it this time and go to a festival without so much food, eh?”

“What do you have in mind?” she asked as she stood and he ushered her into the TARDIS.

“Hanasui, the festival of flowers,” he replied, bounding past her to the console. “The planet Aosi is on an elliptical orbit, so twice a year when it's closest to its star, the water levels rise and the temperature is such that all the flowers bloom at once. Lovely planet full of lovely festivals. I'll take you to all of them. Or most of them. There's one or two that involve beans.”

The Doctor spun around the console so youthful and free, but she knew that just beyond that facade there was darkness and scars left over from too many years of life and loss. True, he wasn't as bad as she was taught in the past that she tried to hide even from herself, and he wasn't the gleaming knight Amy always made him out to be. Instead, he was perfectly flawed and she knew then that no matter his face or actions, nothing would change that.

“River?”

She shook herself from her thoughts and turned to see him standing by the TARDIS doors. “I'm sorry, I was lost in thought.”

“About me?” he asked with a sly grin.

“Don't flatter yourself,” she replied as she strode toward him. No matter what she felt for him, she still had to conquer the fears within her before she could truly vocalize it. He was unpredictable; she could be abandoned at any time just like that first Christmas. True, his older self indicated they had many adventures together, but he'd admitted in the same breath that it could all be rewritten based on a single choice. Aside from that, there was always rule one to consider; the Doctor lies.

Her concerns were wiped from her mind as she stepped through the doors into a magnificent world of color. They were in a short tunnel of criss-crossing green vines covered with hanging purple flowers that resembled large wisteria clusters. The ground was covered with green velvety moss dotted with tiny white buds. It made for a soft carpet, not soggy, more like walking on thick foam. A fresh, clean fragrance with multiple notes of sweetness danced through the air, never overpowering but constantly changing with the breeze.

“Do you like it?” he asked anxiously.

“It's amazing!”

“Come on, there's more.” He smiled as he took her by the hand and led her through a maze of arcing vines heavy with flowers, each type fading into the next. There were spheres of tiny roses, giant honeysuckle blossoms, and long chains of orchids with each bloom on a stem growing out of the previous. Some were unlike any she had ever seen before, with petals like miniature peacock feathers and translucent globes of pearlescent nectar hanging from its heart. Along the way, the Doctor spouted off names of each of the plants, though River suspected he made up most of them just to sound impressive.

They emerged from the maze onto a field of clover that spread to the edge of a pond at the base of a narrow waterfall. The water reflected the periwinkle sky above and was dotted with bowl-shaped flowers perched on lily pads. As they approached, River could see each one held water in its bloom, but for once the Doctor stayed silent, offering no explanation.

“What are those?” River asked, gesturing toward the blossoms floating along the surface of the water.

“Those?” He hesitated, casting a sideways glance at her as he pretended to inspect them more closely. “They're keku blossoms. They—they're used in marriage ceremonies.”

They stood in silence watching the flowers bob lightly on the water until River asked, “Will you show me?”

Realization dawned across his face which then softened into tender affection. He nodded and plucked one of the water-filled blooms from its pad. “When someone decides they wish to marry,” he explained, “they offer a flower to their beloved. The recipient either accepts the gift and drinks from it, or they pluck one of the petals, causing it to drain. In a sense, it's more of an engagement because a wedding with the families is often held later. But technically the couple is considered married from the moment they both share a drink from the bloom.”

River accepted the flower and took a sip. The cool liquid splashed across her tongue with a lightly sweet flavor like that of floral tea. She handed it back and the Doctor drank deeply, draining the last of the water. Giving the empty bloom back to her, he said, “It's traditional to keep the flower. Dry it or press it in a book.”

“You don't want it?”

“Well, ah, I have--spoilers,” he said. “I told you I'll bring you to all the festivals here.”

She nodded in understanding as she took the flower and caught herself wondering how many times he had brought her to this planet, and other planets, so far in his timeline. With a jolt, she realized that she was beginning to trust him. She was really starting to believe that they would meet again and again and have countless adventures across time and space. So she smiled and said, “I hope the day you are given your flower was as lovely as today.”

“Even better,” he replied with a wink.

“I look forward to it.”

“You should.”

River leaned into the Doctor as he draped an arm around her and they settled down on the soft clover to watch the sunset. Later as she pressed the flower in her diary, she would imagine in vivid detail their future adventures, but right then as she sat next to him, she was happy just believing that there was more to come.


End file.
